Once Winston Churchill said “I always get up at seven; no matter how late I went to bed.” just like Winston Churchill if you’re sleeping late you’re in sleep debt.
Sleeping more on weekends won’t fix your sleep problems until you do not have a good plan to pay your sleep debt.
Once Winston Churchill said “I always get up at seven; no matter how late I went to bed.”
just like Winston Churchill if you’re sleeping late you’re in sleep debt.
let’s say you slept 15 minutes less sleep than usually
- On 1st day it’s 15
- 2nd day it will be 30
- On 3rd day it will be: 45
It will accumulate if you don’t stick with your bedtime routine.
So what is sleep debt anyway?
There’s only one thing researchers have found that matters
It’s not Rem, Smart mattresses or even tracking your sleep
That thing is called sleep debt.
long story short, the Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep someone needs and the amount you get.
For example, if your body needs eight hours of sleep per night but you only get six, you have accumulated two hours of sleep debt.
The good news is that by practicing healthy sleep habits, you can pay off your sleep debt and start enjoying all the benefits that you get from a good sleep.
It is time to repay your sleep debt
Sometimes It’s common to experience getting less sleep than usual. whether it’s due to work commitments or spending a late night with a loved one it is important to have a plan for recovering from lost sleep.
To repay your sleep debt you have to know how much sleep debt you owe to yourself
Know how much sleep you owe
When you know how much sleep you want to have then it’s easy to create a bedtime routine that works
So here are some steps that you can follow to find your sleep debt:
- Find out your ideal sleep duration
- Keep a diary and track how many hours of sleep you’re getting
- Calculate the difference by Subtracting the number of hours you slept from your ideal sleep duration.
- Calculate your cumulative sleep debt by Multiplying your nightly sleep debt by the number of nights you’ve been sleep-deprived.
For example lets do some math over here:
- You need 8 hours of sleep per night, but you’ve only been getting 6 hours for the past 5 nights.
- Your nightly sleep debt is 8–6 = 2 hours.
- Your cumulative sleep debt is 2 hours/night * 5 nights = 10 hours.
Tips for Catching Up on Sleep
- Manage your stress
- Sleep more on weekends
- Create a relaxing bedtime routine
- Try to Take naps when you feel tired
- Go to the gym or do a home workout
- Don’t take caffeine before your bedtime routine
last but not least take your time to repay your sleep debt.
Long story short
According to HelpGuide.org, 32.8% of adults reported that they’re sleep-deprived. Getting less sleep is a common problem among adults As a result we face fatigue in our workplace and even have health issues and the good news is we always we can always pay our sleep debt to ourselves by sticking with our sleep routine.
